The Colorado Avalanche shook the hockey world on Friday when they dealt pending unrestricted free agent superstar Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes in one of the biggest blockbuster trades of the cap era. With the trade floodgates being opened, it might be the time to start keeping an eye on the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Kevin Hayes, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Cody Glass and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Penguins. Alex Nedeljkovic, fresh off making history by becoming the first goalie in NHL history to score a goal and record an assist in the same game on Friday in Buffalo, stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn the victory.

Not just pending free agents, but all big name players in play.

According to Preston Hodgkinson of Daily Hive, “If the Oilers want a “Mattias Ekholm-type addition” this season, their best bet will be 28-year-old Marcus Pettersson.” Hodgkinson wrote this on Wednesday when he looked at the Pittsburgh Penguins as a strong fit for a trade partner ahead of this season’s trade deadline.

The Pittsburgh Penguins and perhaps Rickard Rakell got some good news since Sunday. Rakell left the team sometime after the loss on Saturday to the Washington Capitals to return to Pittsburgh and tend to a family matter.

Rickard Rakell got things going. Cody Glass, Alex Nedeljkovic and a few others did the rest, as the Penguins opened a long road trip with a powerful